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May 2010 |
Sports
Village Sports CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE run-of-the-mill in comparison with the excitement of the baseball team, the girls should not be overlooked. The varsity track team has completed its regular season on a high note and is en route to the state championships after yet another successful year. With meets that began in Lexington, Kentucky in late February and ended in Knoxville, Tennessee in April, the Spartans have traveled far and wide on a quest to obtain the boys’ state title and to go for a historic four-peat on the girls side. On April 9-10th, MBHS hosted the annual Mountain Brook Invitational, one of the largest meets in the state that included over 2,000 athletes. In what was one of the highlights of the season, senior Layton Dorsett won both the mile (4:20) and two mile (9:37), freshman Charlie Forbes won the 200 hurdles, and junior Jack Morgan and Dorsett scored points in the 800 (half mile), and the Spartans won the 4x800 relay. Forbes also finished second in the 110 hurdles, capping off a performance coach Greg Echols called “amazing for a freshman.” The guys finished fourth out of many participating teams from around the Southeast. The girls won both the 4x400 and the 4x800 relays along the way towards a first place finish at the Mountain Brook
Invitational out of numerous teams. Individually, Catherine Diethelm, a junior, won the half mile (2:16), with fellow junior Annie Newton and freshman Kendall Reed also placing in the top five. The depth for the Lady Spartans has kept them a step ahead of all contenders and helped put them in a position to win state. A girls’ state title would once again establish Mountain Brook dominance in track to become only the second program to win four straight girls’ championships in Alabama track history. “As far as going for our 4th in a row, it will be a tough one,” said Echols. “Our goal each year is to do the best we can and compete with all we have for the team and each other. Hopefully if we accomplish that goal, we will be in a position to win. I don’t think the girls really feel any pressure.” It was overtime in the championship game of the biggest lacrosse tournament of the year. With sudden death frying his nerves after a long, intense game, sophomore Robert Schuler took the ball and went at the goalie. On the way back from this trip downfield, Schuler was being mobbed by teammates after a gamewinning shot to win the Dan Anderson Lacrosse Classic. “It was really a lucky shot,” said Schuler. “But it was enough to win the
The Spartans receive some coaching tips, with Cori Pack (left) and Anne Pell (facing the camera)
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As fans look on, Mountain Brook makes contact with a pitch
Junior Taylor Mitchell vaults at the Mountain Brook Invitational
A Lady Spartan slides in safely
The Men’s track team
A Spartan long jumper in mid-jump during the largest track meet in Alabama, the Mountain Brook Invitational
The Lady Spartan track team Mountain Brook closes in on a goal against Hoover
Ryan Lichtenstein hands off the baton to John Roberts Leonard during the 4x100 relay
A high jumper for Mountain Brook
Will Moor during a lacrosse game
No. 12 leads the charge downfield